Well, after looking at various postings on this site, and prompted by the death of motor number 4 on my Currie, I took delivery today of a new Powabyke 24 speed commuter.
These are first impressions and should not be taken as a complete and full road test, I'll report in detail at a later date.
The bike lives up to expectations in terms of build quality, Robust or what! It's like the proverbial brickbuilt latty! Alloy frame with good welding, ally bars and stem. Seat like an armchair, but a bit old mannish so that may go. Strong motor mount with soundly designed torque washers (brackets) on the spindle. Idiot proof gear selectors with separate levers for changing up and down - a bit of overkill in my view and they may go as well. Funny old rims and tyres that would do justice to a 1950s autocycle and would probably take a Villiers 2f 98cc engine as they did. (The whole package would be better with Villiers 2 bhp as well, it looks strong enough!).
Riding it I have to say so far it's not what I'd expected.
It's a bit gutless, needs quite a lot of LPA even on modest hills. The motor clicks furiously when coasting downhill, it has the loudest freewheel in the motor I've ever heard. When the power comes in it's just about acceptable at modest throttle openings, but sounds like a knackered coffee grinder at full chat.
The upside is it handles well, is comfortable and has very good brakes. Mileage per charge we shall see, I am charging it as we speak and will take the plot out tomorrow.
Looking at the documentation I see the motor is shown as 150watts! All I've seen on this forum indicates a 200 or 250 watt motor. If it is indeed 150 watts that explains why it seems feeble.
I should say I'm comparing the Powabike to my Currie, which is 300Watts, and my lightweight sports Nano equipped Falcon which is 250 watts. The Currie would go up the side of a house, eats batteries and whines quietly. The Nano is fair at hills, almost silent, I haven't found the limit of the batteries.
No such thing as an ideal purchase, eh?
These are first impressions and should not be taken as a complete and full road test, I'll report in detail at a later date.
The bike lives up to expectations in terms of build quality, Robust or what! It's like the proverbial brickbuilt latty! Alloy frame with good welding, ally bars and stem. Seat like an armchair, but a bit old mannish so that may go. Strong motor mount with soundly designed torque washers (brackets) on the spindle. Idiot proof gear selectors with separate levers for changing up and down - a bit of overkill in my view and they may go as well. Funny old rims and tyres that would do justice to a 1950s autocycle and would probably take a Villiers 2f 98cc engine as they did. (The whole package would be better with Villiers 2 bhp as well, it looks strong enough!).
Riding it I have to say so far it's not what I'd expected.
It's a bit gutless, needs quite a lot of LPA even on modest hills. The motor clicks furiously when coasting downhill, it has the loudest freewheel in the motor I've ever heard. When the power comes in it's just about acceptable at modest throttle openings, but sounds like a knackered coffee grinder at full chat.
The upside is it handles well, is comfortable and has very good brakes. Mileage per charge we shall see, I am charging it as we speak and will take the plot out tomorrow.
Looking at the documentation I see the motor is shown as 150watts! All I've seen on this forum indicates a 200 or 250 watt motor. If it is indeed 150 watts that explains why it seems feeble.
I should say I'm comparing the Powabike to my Currie, which is 300Watts, and my lightweight sports Nano equipped Falcon which is 250 watts. The Currie would go up the side of a house, eats batteries and whines quietly. The Nano is fair at hills, almost silent, I haven't found the limit of the batteries.
No such thing as an ideal purchase, eh?
